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THE MICA I1 ILY
1
Pt
CHORUS LINE TO OPERA:
'Bill Holbrook To Direct Lace It Up'
By PAUL BRENTLINGER
A quarter-century of dancing is
a lot of dancing.
But to William Holbrook, here
to direct the 1950 Union Opera'
"Lace It Up," it has been a quar-
ter century of fun, which has tak-
en him to the top of the theatrical
heap.
Beginning as an ordinary ap-
prentice in a dance chorus, Hol-
brook hoofed his way to the posi-
tion of dance director for several
big-time Broadway shows, as well
as for some of the nation's biggest
municipal opera companies. Along
the way he took a whirl at vaude-
ville and the night club trade.
KNOWN AS "Bill" to the entire
Union Opera staff, Holbrook's
most recent Broadway job was that
of special dance coach for the cur-
rent musical comedy hit "Gentle-
men Prefer Blondes.".
"Bill" also served as dance di-
rector for the Rogers and Ham-
merstein revival of "Connecti-
cut Yankee." He had the same
job for "Burlesque," the recent
musical which starred Bert
Lahr.
Holbrook's work with municipal
opera companies has taken him to
the far corners of the nation. This
all began in 1932 when he was
dance director and ballet master
at St. Louis' famed Municipal Op-
era.
HE CONTINUED his summer
theatre work at the Iroquois Am-
phitheatre in Louisville, then went
to Memphis for four years, and to
Dallas for two years at the Star-
light theatre.
From there he came to De-
troit, where he had a hand in
the revival of the Detroit Civic
4 Light Opera. His experience in
the neighboring city was quite
extensive. In 1945 and 1946 he
was associate producing direc-
tor for the Light Opera. He also
worked as dance director and
ballet master for the Detroit
group.
No newcomer to college musical
shows, Holbrook directed seven of
Harvard's "Hasty Pudding" shows,
plus one of the Princeton "Tri-
angle" reviews.
Union Trip
Planned for
etro Play
"The re-birth of French letters,
a glow of past glories and a mes-
sage of hope for the future... "
That's how French newspapers
have acclaimed Jean Giradoux's
hilarious comedy, "The Madwo-
man of Chaillot," scheduled to
open this week in a Detroit The-
atre.
* * *
BUT SOME American writers
have taken a different view. They
have termed it too "high brow,"
too "special" to have large audi-
ence appeal.
Judging from the high success
the controversial comedy has
received during a solid year on
Broadway, the pessimists have
been wrong, but U iversity stu-
dents will have a chance to de-
cide for themselves March 11.
That day the Union and the
speech department will co-sponsor
a trip to a matinee performance
of the comic fantasy which stars
Martita Hunt in the role of Mad-
woman.
TICKETS FOR the trip will be
on sale from 3 to 5. p.m. tomorrow
at the Union box-office. Priced at
$3.30, they will include both the-
atre admission and round-trip bus
fare, according to Union staffer
Phil Johnson, '52E.
Produced and directed by Al-
fred de Laigre, Jr., the "Mad-
woman of Chaillot" features the
original stage-settings which
were used in the show's Paris
premiere.
The Madwoman of the title is
far from mad in the English sense
of the word; she is, rather, "touch-
ed" with that deep wisdom sup-
posedly encountered in those who
have little truck with drab reali-
ties.
Whether or not they consider
the play too high brow, most U.S.
critics have agreed that it is beu-
tifully written, and Brooks At-
kinson of the New York Times has
called it "incomparably the finest
comedy of the season."
ASSOCIAT ED
News
PRESS
o i L B 0 0 M T 0 W N-A dwelling-to-be (left) is moving
through a downtown street of Snyder, Texas, oil boom town,
where housing facilities are exhausted and homes are brought in.
BIRD IN HANDS N PARIS.Ablueara,one
of 3,000 valuable birds in the first bird show in Paris, France, is
held- by -an exhibitor before being placed in position.
HIGH KICKER-William "Bill" Holbrook, veteran New York
theatrical director, demonstrates an iptricate dance routine for
the chorus of "Lace It Up," the 1950 Union Opera. Holbrook,
who will direct this year's Opera, has had a quarter century of
theatrical experience.
* * * *
ALWAYS loaded with energy It Up" auditions and early rehear-
and enthusiasm, "Bill" soon be- sals, Rogers said.
came very popular with the Op- Holbrook commended the writ-
era crew here, according to Cliff ers and musicians of "Lace It Up"
, for "an unusually fine job with the
Rogers, 51 BAd, Opera publicity book and songs . .,. . 'Lace It Up'
chief. His effervescence has sup- should be even bigger and better
plied all sorts of spark for "Lace than last year's 'Froggy Bottom.'''
Distrust of Lawyers Caused
By Movies, Claims Attorney
"The long-standing custom of
portrayingklawyers as scoundrels
and crooks in motion pictures,
books and magazines have led
people seeking legal aid to distrust
a lawyer's honesty," Glenn R.
Winters told the Conference of
Bar Association Presidents yester-
day in Chicago.
Winters, an Ann Arbor lawyer,
is editor of the Journal of the
American Judicature Society. The
Society has its offices in the Uni-
versity of Michigan Law School.
* *, *
WINTERS BELIEVED this "ha-
bit of thought" has led people to
"doubt the lawyer's honesty and
darkly suspect him of alliances
with criminals and racketeersf'
Denying these suspicions, Win-
ter went on to point out that
"while some lawyers go wrong.,.
the vast majority of them are
actually above average in trusi-
worthiness."
In an attempt to break down
these barriers, Winter asks that
reliable legal service be easily
available to everybody.
He observed the "lawyer refer-
ence plan" as a step in this direc-
tion. Under this plan, people, un-
familiar with legal fees and how
to engage a lawyer, are a*,le to
consult a bar association. They
will be referred to a reputable
lawyer who will give legal services
at a reasonable rate.
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